Virtual data storage services have become available that enable customers of the services to provision virtual data stores of various kinds without concern for the hardware that implements and maintains the virtual data stores. The implementation hardware and suitable associated facilities, such as network connectivity, are financed and maintained by the virtual data storage service operators. In return, the operators charge customers according to various cost plans, typically including at some costs that are based on virtual data store size (e.g., as measured in gigabytes).
It is common for customers of such virtual data storage services to over-provision with respect to current data storage needs in anticipation of increased future data storage needs. Since modern virtual data storage services can rapidly provision additional data storage space (e.g., on the order of minutes, seconds or less), this is an inefficiency that can result in significant additional cost to virtual data storage service operators and/or their customers. However, not all customers over-provision, and customers that do over-provision do so to different extents. Accordingly, poor assumptions about customer over-provisioning can be problematic.
Same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features, but such repetition of number is for purposes of simplicity of explanation and understanding, and should not be viewed as a limitation on the various embodiments.